Local Nursery Research Articles

Parent‐reported adverse food reactions in Hong Kong Chinese pre‐schoolers: epidemiology, clinical spectrum and risk factors

The epidemiology of adverse food reactions (AFRs), including the potentially life-threatening food allergy (FA), in Asia is unclear. AFR is believed to be less prevalent than in Caucasians. This study determines the prevalence, clinical features and risk factors for parent-reported AFR in Chinese pre-school children in Hong Kong. Children aged 2-7 yr living in Hong Kong were recruited through local nurseries and kindergartens to ascertain the occurrence and clinical spectrum of AFR and other atopic disorders. Subjects' parents answered a self-administered questionnaire that was modified and validated based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood. A total of 3827 children from 21 nurseries and kindergartens returned the study questionnaires, and information on AFR was analyzable for 3677 (96.1%) children. The prevalence rates of parent-reported AFR and parent-reported, doctor-diagnosed AFR were 8.1% and 4.6%, respectively, whereas 5.0% of pre-schoolers had doctor-diagnosed asthma. The six leading causes of AFR were shellfish (15.8%), egg (9.1%), peanut (8.1%), beef (6.4%), cow's milk (5.7%), and tree nuts (5.0%). When compared with children born and raised in Hong Kong, children born in mainland China (n = 253) had less parent-reported AFR (4.0% vs. 6.7%; p = 0.016). On logistic regression, parent-reported AFR was associated with younger age (p = 0.010), born in mainland China (p = 0.038), and AFR history in father (p = 0.001), mother (p < 0.001), siblings (p = 0.020), and paternal history of rhinitis (p = 0.044). This study shows that AFR is a common atopic disorder in Hong Kong pre-school children, and prevalence rates are comparable to the Caucasians.

Quality‐of‐life assessment in Chinese families with food‐allergic children

Caucasian families with food-allergic children have a compromised quality of life (QoL) for fear of life-threatening food reactions. Such data are limited in Asian children. Based on our recent questionnaire-based survey, 8.1% of young children recruited from local nurseries and kindergartens had parent-reported adverse food reactions (AFRs). This study tested the robustness of the Chinese Food Allergy Quality of Life-Parental Burden questionnaire (FAQL-PB) and assessed QoL in families with childhood AFR. The correlations among FAQL-PB items were evaluated by factor analysis. Two hundred and ninety-eight of 3677 children aged 2-7 years had parent-reported AFR, and 197 (66.1%) of them completed the 17 items of our self-administered FAQL-PB. Six hundred and thirty-nine (18.9%) children without AFR returned this questionnaire. Factor analysis was used to delineate the inter-relationship among the FAQL-PB items. Cronbach alpha for our Chinese FAQL-PB was 0.976, and the median (interquartile range) FAQL-PB scores of children with and without parent-reported AFR were 0.10 (0.02-0.32) and 0 (0-0.18), respectively (P < 0.001). Factor analysis confirmed excellent correlations between FAQL-PB items. The 17 items were clustered into two factors, which explained 79.7% of the total variance. Among children with AFR, FAQL-PB scores increased with increasing numbers of foods that caused AFRs (P < 0.001 for trend). Thirty (15.2%) children had impaired QoL, defined as average item FAQL-PB score > or = 0.5. Impaired QoL was associated with AFR that was caused by >3 foods (P = 0.001), current food avoidance (P = 0.005) and AFR caused by peanut (P = 0.003), egg (P = 0.011) and cow's milk (P = 0.028), and current flexural dermatitis (P = 0.011). FAQL-PB is a robust measure of AFR-specific parental QoL, which is impaired in Chinese children with parent-reported AFR. Flexural dermatitis, current food avoidance and AFR caused by multiple foods are independent risk factors for lower parental QoL.

Critical Thinking in Anesthesia

Critical Thinking in Anesthesia

MINIMAL MICROSATELLITE MARKER PANEL FOR FINGERPRINTING BLUEBERRY CULTIVARS

Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are now cultivated in countries far from their origin in North America. In Chile, they were introduced about two decades ago and have become the number one exported berry. Accelerated multiplication of plants by local nurseries was needed to cope with the increasing demand. At the same time, a large number of cultivars were imported to the country, which led to misidentification of several genotypes. The establishment of efficient procedures to determine the genetic identity of existing cultivars became a necessity for the proper protection of Intellectual Property Rights and to trace genotypes during plant propagation. Microsatellite (or simple sequence repeat, SSR) markers for blueberries were recently developed at the USDA, ARS, NCGR-Corvallis Genebank. In our case, SSR markers efficiently differentiated between a minimum of 50 cultivars and enabled the identification of several misnamed cultivars grown in Chile. Our objective was to also determine the most efficient SSR marker set for blueberry identification. Using Cluster Analysis we determined that just two markers (NA-1040 plus CA-421) could distinguish many genotypes provided by the Chilean Phytosanitary Agency (SAG) and the Corvallis Genebank. In cases of uncertainty, several more markers were tested. Our first choice was CA-344, followed by VCC-H9 or CA-794, but the need for additional markers seldom arose.

Citrus exocortis viroid transmission through commercially-distributed seeds of Impatiens and Verbena plants

Surveys of Impatiens and Verbena species in local nurseries in Fredericton, Canada and Verbena species in New Delhi, India showed widespread infection of Citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd) in vegetatively-propagated and seed-grown plants. To determine viroid seed transmission, samples of eight varieties of Impatiens and 11 varieties of Verbena were obtained from four commercial sources. All 19 samples collected contained viroid infection irrespective of variety. The presence of viroid in non-germinated seed was 21%, while the transmission rate in seedlings was 66% in Impatiens walleriana in 2006. Following 2 years of seed storage, the respective figures were 6% and 26%. Similarly, in Verbena x hybrida the presence of viroid in seed was 13% in 2006 with a seed-transmission rate in seedlings of 28%, while the respective figures after 2 years of storage were 5% and 45%.

Practitioners' Experiences of Personal Ownership and Autonomy in Their Support for Young Children's Thinking

This article reports the third phase of the Froebel Research Fellowship Project: ‘The Voice of the Child: ownership and autonomy in early learning’. Building on the first and second phases of this study, this phase examined early years practitioners' experiences of supporting young children's thinking in relation to the personal ownership and autonomy they felt in their practice. Thirteen early years practitioners (1 male, 12 female) working in private, voluntary and local authority nursery schools and reception classes in England took part in the informal one-to-one semi-structured interview study. Themes such as (1) dealing with constraints, (2) the importance of flexibility based on shared understandings amongst the team of practitioners and (3) interpersonal relationships emerged as central to practitioners' views about concepts of ownership and autonomy, and the ways in which practitioners endeavour to exercise agency in directing the course of their practice in extending children's thinking.

Potential transport of plaice eggs and larvae between two apparently self-contained populations in the Irish Sea

A coupled physics particle-tracking model, driven by realistic meteorological forcing was used to examine the dispersal and transport of plaice eggs and larvae in the year 2000 from two spawning grounds in the Irish Sea. The model included passive transport of eggs and early stage larvae, diel vertical movements for larvae between 7 and 10.5 mm in body-length and tidally synchronised, vertical movements for larger larvae (>9 mm body-length). The year 2000 was chosen because of the availability of ichthyoplankton data with which to initialise the model. The majority of larvae originating from spawning in the eastern Irish Sea settled into nursery grounds along the Scottish, English and Welsh coasts, in agreement with previous findings. In contrast, a significant portion of larvae originating from spawning in the western Irish Sea was transported eastwards to these same nursery grounds. Transport across the Irish Sea resulted from the onset of tidally synchronised vertical behaviour encoded in the model for older larvae. Settlement of larvae into local nursery grounds along the Irish coast was limited. Because of the prevailing winds and currents in the region, plaice eggs and larvae are unlikely to be transported from east to west; in most years spawning in the western Irish Sea probably acts as an additional source of juveniles for nursery grounds along the Scottish, English and Welsh coasts.

Stem rot and leaf spot of Eucalyptus sp and its control

Infected specimens of Eucalyptus spp. Myrtaceae received from local nursery were examined; they showed rotting and browning at the basal regions of their stems. Isolations were made from the affected portions and a profusely growing fungus was obtained consistently and it was identified as Pestalotia maculiformans. Successful pathogenicity tests were also carried out. Effect of three fungicides Benlate, Topsin and Dithane M-45 on the growth and sporulation of the pathogen was studied in vitro and in vivo, Benlate was found to be most effective even at 0.001 gm liter amongest all fungicides tested.

Multiple Objectives Achieved with a Germination Experiment in a Science Education Biology Class

This article describes a semester-long science experiment and subsequent service-learning project designed to more directly connect our college students to the local landscape within which they are studying. Higher education typically focuses on broadening our students' intellectual and curricular experience, but what is often regrettably lost in this process is an of the applied value of what is being learned (Russo, 2003). Too often learning at the college level seems to occur in a transcendental vacuum where rootedness in a specific place is ignored (Zencey, 1996). In contrast, when we deepen our students' of their relatedness within a particular physical context, we simultaneously deepen their of who they are and the presence of responsibilities they bear as citizens of that particular place (Curry et al., 2002). This experiment ultimately terminates with a service-learning activity that necessitates the students' involvement in an off-campus experience. This experience provides a meaningful bridge to the community in which our campus resides (Boyer, 1996). Organizational and personal relationships become developed and beyond the science lessons learned, our students begin to appreciate how the information they acquire can be used in ways that promote the beauty and integrity of their social and ecological context (Eyler & Giles, 1999; Plater, 1999). This approach counters classic scientific reductionism and instead emphasizes the place-based context within which all learning occurs (Kloppenburg, 1991). The class that has been the vector for this activity is our spring term Biology 112 (Life Science for Elementary School Teachers). The activity occurs during the ecology section of this course, in which we initiate an eight to ten week germination trial that assesses the relative germination success of a local, aggressive non-native plant, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), and compare its germination to that of an assortment of co-occurring native wildflowers. The student learning objectives we address in this inquiry-based investigation include: connecting the students to our local landscape; increasing their appreciation for responsibilities that come with scientific literacy; deepening their of the influence of non-native invasive species; experiencing the process of designing and carrying out a scientific experiment; learning about the genius of seeds--the dynamics of dormancy, germination, seedling growth and development and plant competition; and a deeper appreciation for the ethnobotanical uses of plants by indigenous people of this region. These objectives are affirmed by the National Science Education Standards in which the standards, developing the abilities to do scientific inquiry and deepening an understanding about scientific inquiry, are emphasized (National Research Council, 2000, page 18). Furthermore, such a quality inquiry-based investigation engages students in the same thought processes as real scientists (Roth, 1995), which is a final, overarching objective of this activity. Designing the Experiment Although this course is taught in the spring term, our experiment actually has its origin during the fall semester, when the seeds we use are collected by different students as part of a restoration ecology laboratory period in Biology 346 (Plant Taxonomy), taught by one of the authors. If means are not available for a class or school to collect seeds themselves, native seeds can readily be purchased from (or donated by) a local native plant nursery. It would also be possible for a class to partner with a local garden club for assistance in obtaining native wildflower seeds. Local seed sources are always preferred--local genotypes will be particularly suited to grow well within the specific context of one's home institution. The collected seeds, as well as seeds from purple loosestrife, are stored in Hubco Soil Sample nylon bags and allowed to overwinter outdoors in an animal exclosure we have established behind our research greenhouse. …

Clustered Stomates in Begonia: An Exercise in Data Collection &amp; Statistical Analysis of Biological Space

An important aspect of biology is spatial distribution and patterns of distribution can be either ordered, random, or clustered. For examples, deployment of mature trees in a forest is ordered, occurrence of zebras on a savannah is clustered, and location of clams on the ocean floor is random. Deployment can be examined in two directions; first is down the scale of order to study arrangement of organisms (trees, zebras, trout) in a population, leaves on a branch, stomates on a leaf, chloroplasts in a cell, etc. The second approach to the study of deployment is to provide a quantitative measure of a pattern. One means of quantifying space is by tile dispersion index, DI, which is tile variance over the mean, ([[sigma].sup.2]/m; a value greater than 1.0 indicates an ordered arrangement, a value of about 1.0 denotes a random pattern, and a D1 noticeably' less than 1.0 comes from clustering. An interesting example of all three patterns is the occurrence of clustered stomates on leaves in some Begonia cultivars (Figure 1). In this figure stomates are found in clusters and the arrangement of these clusters is indicated by the DI which is 0.64/3.25, or 0.19, much less than 1.0. Also notice that clusters are usually separated by one cell, again, a relation that gives an ordered pattern. For the arrangement of stomates the DI is 74/13, or 5.7, much greater than 1.0 and so the pattern is one of order. Finally, the number of stomates per cluster has a D1 of 3.1/3.6 (Table 1), or 0.87 close to 1.0 for a random number of stomates per cluster. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Data collection and statistical analysis of the data is the hallmark of modern science but few teaching exercises are designed lot students to experience this approach. The difficulty with handling data is that it requires either too many organisms or the technological requirements are unrealistic. For a class to study the spatial distribution of trees, animals in a herd, or clams on the sea floor is unrealistic both with respect to travel and to have sufficient numbers to make sound conclusions. One example where many data points can be collected with minimal equipment is that of stomates (Greek for openings) on the leaves of plants. In some cultivars of Begonia, stomates occur in clusters ranging from one to as many as ten (Payne, 1970) and these can be seen by a permanent preparation of a microscope slide as a fingernail polish imprint (Sampson, 1961) as shown in Figure 1. Seen under the microscope, 100 clusters can be counted for the number of stomates per cluster in only 15 minutes and, if desired, 500 within an hour. This data set can then be analyzed statistically by, calculating the average as well as variance and then tested to see if they fit a particular expected distribution, in this case the Poisson distribution. The exercise can be done in middle school classes by students making their own slides and seeing imprints of ceils, or at the high school level through collecting data of number of stomates per cluster and graphing the results, or in a college laboratory by comparing collected data to an expected Poisson distribution and doing a [chi square] test for goodness of fit. Procedures Begonia (B. X semprflorens) plants can be purchased in the spring at a local nursery or are grown indoors year round. Some cultivars have stomatal clusters, such as Vodka, Whiskey, or Lady Carol, while others, B. X tuberhybrid, have the more typical solitary stomates, so plants have to be checked well before class. A piece of leaf about the size of a postage stamp is cut off the plant and the imprinting method of Sampson (1961) is run as follows. The lower epidermis is swabbed with clear fingernail polish, left to dry for about 15 minutes, and then peeled off with a pair of forceps. This imprint is then placed on a dean microscope slide, a coverslip is placed over it, and a small dab of the fingernail polish is placed at two diagonal corners and allowed to dry in order to hold down the coverslip. …

Symptoms of asthma and atopic disorders in preschool children: prevalence and risk factors

Published epidemiological data suggested that asthma and allergies may be increasing in preschool children. Identification of the risk factors is important for planning possible early intervention to prevent asthma. This study was designed to measure the prevalence of, and risk factors for, asthma and atopic disorders in preschool children from Hong Kong. Children aged 2-6 years living in Hong Kong were recruited through the local nurseries and kindergartens for this study to ascertain the presence of symptoms of asthma and various possible risk factors. The parental questionnaire was developed based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire. A total of 3089 children (1506 boys) from 14 nurseries and kindergartens participated in this study. The prevalence of wheeze ever and current wheeze were 16.7% and 9.3%. Two hundred and thirty-four subjects were born in mainland China and migrated to Hong Kong subsequently. When compared with children born and raised in Hong Kong, children born in mainland China had significantly lower prevalence of current wheeze (3.4% vs. 9.6%, P<0.01). Two environmental factors in the first year of life were associated with wheezing attacks within the last 12 months. They were the use of foam pillow (Odds ratio: 1.45; 95% Confidence interval: 1.04-2.00) and the use of gas as cooking fuel (1.68; 1.03-2.75). Frequent use of paracetamol was also associated with wheezing attack in the past 12 months. This study confirms the high prevalence of symptoms of atopic disorders in preschool children from Hong Kong. Early environmental exposure factors are important determinants of subsequent development of asthma symptoms in the preschool years. Further studies are needed to evaluate the possible pathogenetic role of the identified risk factors.

Merging the Roles of Learning, Research, and Outreach in a Nursery Irrigation Exercise

The authors used a simple procedure to teach how to generate evapotranspiration (ET) data for both 1- and 5-gal pots of the xeric shrub apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa) and the mesic vine japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’). In-class instruction and assigned reading prepared students for collecting data over a 22-day period (12 Apr. to 3 May), processing data on an electronic spreadsheet, accessing the Internet to acquire reference plant ET data, calculating a crop coefficient (Kc), preparing graphs, organizing a digital presentation, and presenting the findings to commercial nursery participants and instructors. When averaged across days and pot sizes, ET of japanese honeysuckle was 1.22 cm·d−1, whereas ET of apache plume was only 0.80 cm·d−1. This finding supported the students' hypothesis that a nursery block of potted mesic vines would use more water than a nursery block of potted xeric shrubs per unit of ground area. Commercial nursery participants adopted the ET monitoring technique after viewing the student presentation, indicating effective transfer of information by the students. The simple, inexpensive, 3-week exercise furthered the students' horticulture knowledge and comprehension while allowing for a collaborative effort with the local nursery industry.

Relative salt tolerance of selected herbaceous perennials and groundcovers

Abstract In order to use reclaimed water to irrigate landscape plants and minimize damage and loss, salinity tolerance of commonly used landscape plants needs to be determined and characterized. Eight herbaceous perennials and groundcovers were obtained from a local nursery, transplanted to 2.6-L plastic containers and grown in the greenhouse for 2 weeks before saline irrigation at electrical conductivity (EC) of 0.8 (tap water), 3.2, 6.4, or 12 dS m −1 were initiated. Plants were irrigated with measured amount of saline solutions to obtain 30% leaching when approximately 50% water had been depleted. After 12 weeks, four plants in each treatment were destructively harvested and dry weights of shoots and roots were determined. Three Penstemon species ( P . eatonii A. Gray, P . pseudospectabilis M.E. Jones, and P . strictus Benth.) and Lavandula angustifolia Mill. at 6.4 and 12 dS m −1 and most at 3.2 dS m −1 did not survive. Shoot dry weight of Delosperma cooperi (Hook.f.) L. Bolus decreased by 25% at 12 dS m −1 , but there were no significant differences among the rest of the treatments. All plants of Teucrium chamaedrys L. survived but growth was reduced significantly with lower visual scores as salinity of irrigation water increased. Although growth was reduced in Gazania rigens (L.) Gaertn. as salinity increased, no other signs of stress or injury were observed. Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Bunge had reduced growth at 3.2 dS m −1 and higher EC levels compared to the control, older leaves showed reddish pigmentation at 6.4 dS m −1 , whereas those at 12 dS m −1 did not survive. Ion concentrations of shoot and root tissue at the end of the experiment on surviving plants were also affected by salinity levels and varied among species. Among the tested species, D. cooperi and G . rigen indicated a relatively high tolerance to salinity, T. chamaedrys and C. plumbaginoides were moderately tolerant, and the rest were less tolerant.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPORTING ORNAMENTAL PLANTS FROM MIAMI-DADE COUNTY TO THE CARIBBEAN

In Miami-Dade County, Fla., there are 1,240 registered nurseries, growing plants in 14,000 acres, making it the state's leading nursery crop producer. This industry provides 18,000 nursery related jobs and in 2000 had an estimated total value of $790 million. Like many other agricultural industries in Florida, the nursery industry has become very competitive; as a result, many growers are searching for new marketing opportunities. The Caribbean region consists of 28 nations with a population of 21 million. This region is considered one of the most dependent on agricultural imports. In 2004, United State agricultural exports to the Caribbean reached a total value of $1.9 billion, of which $9 million was nursery plant product. Due to proximity of many of the Caribbean countries and cheap transportation costs, the United State is essentially trading in its own backyard. To strengthen the export knowledge of local nursery growers, a partnership was created among the Southern U.S. Trade Association (SUSTA), the USDA's Caribbean Basin Agricultural Trade Office (CBATO), Miami–Dade College, and the University of Florida/Miami–Dade County Cooperative Extension Service. Two different workshop series were offered to train selected nursery managers about the export essentials. As a result of this partnership, 21 nursery growers were able to complete the program, 57% of the participants had exported in the past to the Caribbean and 43% are now starting to export.

Penicillium species endophytic in coffee plants and ochratoxin A production

Tissues from Coffea arabica, C. congensis, C. dewevrei and C. liberica collected in Colombia, Hawaii and at a local plant nursery in Maryland were sampled for the presence of fungal endophytes. Surface sterilized tissues including roots, leaves, stems and various berry parts were plated on yeast-malt agar. DNA was extracted from a set of isolates visually recognized as Penicillium, and the internal transcribed spacer region and partial LSU-rDNA was amplified and sequenced. Comparison of DNA sequences with GenBank and unpublished sequences revealed the presence of 11 known Penicillium species: P. brevicompactum, P. brocae, P. cecidicola, P. citrinum, P. coffeae, P. crustosum, P. janthinellum, P. olsonii, P. oxalicum, P. sclerotiorum and P. steckii as well as two possibly undescribed species near P. diversum and P. roseopurpureum. Ochratoxin A was produced by only four isolates, one isolate each of P. brevicompactum, P. crustosum, P. olsonii and P. oxalicum. The role these endophytes play in the biology of the coffee plant remains enigmatic.

Penicillium species endophytic in coffee plants and ochratoxin A production

Tissues from Coffea arabica, C. congensis, C. dewevrei and C. liberica collected in Colombia, Hawaii and at a local plant nursery in Maryland were sampled for the presence of fungal endophytes. Surface sterilized tissues including roots, leaves, stems and various berry parts were plated on yeast-malt agar. DNA was extracted from a set of isolates visually recognized as Penicillium, and the internal transcribed spacer region and partial LSU-rDNA was amplified and sequenced. Comparison of DNA sequences with GenBank and unpublished sequences revealed the presence of 11 known Penicillium species: P. brevicompactum, P. brocae, P. cecidicola, P. citrinum, P. coffeae, P. crustosum, P. janthinellum, P. olsonii, P. oxalicum, P. sclerotiorum and P. steckii as well as two possibly undescribed species near P. diversum and P. roseopurpureum. Ochratoxin A was produced by only four isolates, one isolate each of P. brevicompactum, P. crustosum, P. olsonii and P. oxalicum. The role these endophytes play in the biology of the coffee plant remains enigmatic.

PUTTING PARTICIPATORY DOMESTICATION INTO PRACTICE IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

ABSTRACT The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) has been working in the African Humid Tropics (AHT) since 1987. Despite its natural wealth, small-scale farmers of AHT are among the poorest people in the world and have relied on extractive harvesting of forest products and traditional shifting cultivation for their food and other needs. After years of severe deforestation, alternatives now have to be found as land pressure has increased and commodity prices of cash crops have declined. To overcome these problems, the Participatory Domestication of high-value indigenous fruit, nut and medicinal trees is seen as one way of empowering rural households to improve their own situation. Many products of indigenous trees have existing local and regional markets, with additional potential niches in international commerce. In Participatory Domestication, villagers are helped to develop local nurseries, taught skills of vegetative propagation, and assisted with the technical implementation of selecting superior trees for cultivar development, that meet specific market-oriented ‘ideotypes’. Farmers are enthusiastically adopting these techniques and are thereby improving their own livelihoods. The most successful community is expecting to make $US 10,000 in 2005 from the sale of improved cultivars from its nursery. The AHT tree domestication programme started in two villages in 1998, now 42 villages in two Provinces of Cameroon are active partners, and the programme has been extended to other countries. Currently, about 5000 farmers are practising participatory tree domestication techniques: 3500 in Cameroon, 1000 in Nigeria and 500 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The programme has also started in Equatorial Guinea and will soon be expanding to Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone and Liberia. This paper describes the steps used to implement a participatory approach to tree domestication, and the lessons learnt. It also examines the perceived advantages and disadvantages of domestication, as well as the constraints and opportunities. The critical importance of local processing and value-adding for improved storage of products with short shelf-life is discussed as a means to ensure that the market for agroforestry tree products expands in parallel with the supply.

Predicting parents' decisions on MMR immunisation: a mixed method investigation

Increasing uptake rates for MMR vaccination requires an understanding of factors leading parents to decide for and against vaccination, particularly in the light of recent developments. We investigated factors relevant to immunising and non-immunising parents and the extent to which these factors predicted their decisions. The study was conducted in Edinburgh, UK. A two-stage mixed method design was used. Delphi technique elicited parents' views of factors relevant to MMR immunisation. Twenty-six factors identified as relevant were incorporated into a final questionnaire. Using cluster sampling, the final questionnaire was distributed to parents recruited through a group of local nurseries. 110 parents participated: eighty (72.7%) had had their child MMR vaccinated, thirty (27.3%) had refused the vaccine. The factors in the final questionnaire were analysed against vaccination status using a direct binary logistic regression model. Four factors significantly predicted vaccination status, (prediction toward 'yes vaccination'). These were the influence of current research (OR=0.18, 95% CI=0.07-0.51), the helpfulness of leaflets and information packs (OR=3.27, 95% CI=1.38-7.75), the importance of eradication of rubella (OR=2.42, 95% CI=1.01-5.78), and the importance attached to the risk of adverse reactions (OR=0.65, 95% CI=0.48-0.87). Differences between immunising and non-immunising parents lie in the importance attached to four relevant factors. Excluding risk of adverse reactions, these factors have not been previously identified as salient and require to be explored further. Health advice to parents should highlight the identified importance attached to eradicating rubella and explicitly reflect research findings.

Comparison of First- and Second-Year Growth between Container-grown `Autumn Blaze' Maple Trees

In May 2004, at the request of local nursery owners, young Acer ×freemanii 'Autumn Blaze' (Autumn Blaze maple) trees previously grown in a number 20 (#20) container pot-in-pot (PIP) system were planted at the Colorado State University Horticultural Farm alongside similarly sized trees field grown, balled and burlapped (B&amp;B). These trees were planted using methods recommended by the International Society of Arboriculture with half receiving 30% by volume soil amendment consisting of Organix compost mixed with the native soils. In addition, five trees grown for one year using the #20 PIP container system were maintained a second year in the same containers and compared to five trees transferred to #45 containers. After one season, the PIP-grown trees showed significantly more shoot growth and increased trunk caliper than the B&amp;B trees. The application of amendments had no effect on the growth for either the B&amp;B or PIP trees. Trees maintained in PIP containers for a second year had similar growth regardless of the container size.

To the distribution of PPV-M strain in selected orchards of apricots and peaches in the Czech Republic

The presence and distribution of PPV-M strain of Plum pox virus were investigated in selected orchards of apricots and peaches in the Czech Republic. PPV-M was found to be distributed in apricot and peach orchards planted with nursery material imported from abroad. The presence of PPV-M was not proved in orchards planted with trees from local nurseries. The absence of PPV-M in a majority of spontaneous PPV hosts was proved previously. PPV-M strain appears to have been introduced recently. &amp;nbsp;